Wheel-tire.



A. A. PIGARD. WHEEL TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1913.

1,115,566, Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Tan STATES PATENT OFFICE ALPHONSE ARTHUR PICARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

WHEEL-TIRE.

To all whom i; may concern:

Be it known that I ALPHONSE ARTHUR PICARD, a subject of (irreat Britain,and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWheel-Tires, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements relate to a floating rim tire of the characterdesignated in my Letters Patent No. 1,071,953, issued to me Sept. 2nd,1913, and designed primarily to afford a simple but effective substitutefor the inflated tire, overcoming the difiiculties and inconveniencesinvolved in the use of the latter, and attaining other practicaladvantages, such as strength combined with resilience and durability,comparative cheapness, &c.,the distinctive feature of the presentinvention consisting in the interposition, between the central fixedbase rim and the annular flange of the floating tire rim, of a series ofelastic resilient cushions which reinforce and sustain the floating rimunder strain while allowing it to adapt itself thereto under allconditions of use as hereinafter described and claimed specifically.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, is a transverse section of myimproved tire in which annular truss struts are used as in my LettersPatent hereinbefore referred to; Fig. 2, is a similar view in which saidannular truss struts are omittedand my elastic resilient cushions arerelied upon entirely to sustain the floating rim Fig. 3, isan end Viewof the cushion shown in Fig. 1, upon a larger scale; and Fig. 4,. a sideelevation thereof; Fig. 5, is a side View, and Fig.- 6 an edge view ofone of the cushions shown in Fig. 2, on alargerscale; Fig. 7, a sectionupon plane of line 7-7 Fig. 5; Fig. 8, a section upon plane of line 88,showing also the retaining bolt i cross section; Fig. 9, a sectionaldetail showing a modification; Fig. 10, is a diagrammatic viewrepresenting on a small scale the use of a plurality of my compensatingcushions of the form shown in Fig. 9.

B represents the central base rim attached 'to the spokes S, of thewheel or otherwise Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 4, 1913.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914. Serial No. 793,267.

ed a solid tread t, of elastic resilient ma terial, the external surfaceof which is preferably curved con vexly as related to its cross sectionso as to aflord a limited con tact with the ground. The rear of theauxiliary rim A is formed with a central annular flange a, the innerportion of which fits in the annular groove 6, in the base fim B, so asto be supported laterally by the sides thereof, the groove 6, being ofsuflicient depth to admit of the requisite degree of play between theparts.

In Fig. 1 elastic resilient annular truss struts s, s, are interposedbetween the flanges b, b, and the auxiliary rim A,as in my LettersPatent hereinbefore recited, the edges of said struts s, 8, beingsecured in place by the use of suitable mechanical expedients. Thus theouter edges of the truss struts s, s, are secured to the annular flangea, by means of screw bolts c,annular washer plates d, 03, beinginterposed between these edges of the struts s, s, and the bolt headsand nuts. In similar manner the inner edges of the truss struts s, 8,may be secured to the outer edges of the base rim flanges b, b, by meansof ring plates 6, e, and screw bolts e, e, and nuts 6 c and the flangesb, b, may be formed with annular beads or shoulders 6 6 to engage withcorresponding grooves in the opposed surfaces of the struts s, s, forthe purpose of preventing the lateral creeping of the said struts. p

When used in connection with the truss struts s, .9, my series ofcompensating cushions 70, 7c, are designed to supplement and control theaction of the said struts 8, 8, reinforcing them against undue strainand limiting their extent of flexure, and this combination is desirablewhere the said truss struts are used on tires subjected to especialstrain, as in the case of vehicles designed for heavy traction, such asautomobiles and wagons employed for purposes of commercialtransportation, &c. For lighter vehicles however, and to economize inspace and render the tire more simple and compact in structure the trussstruts s, 8, may be dispensed with and my compensating cushions is, k,relied upon entirely to affordthe requisite degree of elasticity andresillence, as in Figs. 2 and 9.

In any case the essential feature of my present invention consists inthe use of a plurality of these compensating cushions k, is, arrangedequi-distant around the wheel, and, to all intents and pur oses,interposed between the side walls b", of the annular groove 6, in thebase rim B, and the central annular flange a, of the auxiliary rim A, insuch manner as to admit of the requisite degree of motion between saidparts while acting as elastic resilient media to absorb and compensatefor the shock and strain of traction. Obviously the form and arrangementof my intermedial compensating cushions 70, k, may be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit and intent of my invention. Thus in Fig. 1, aplain cylindrical cushion k, of elastic resilient material, shown indetail in Figs. 3 and 4, is simply seated in recesses b 6 in the sidewalls I)", b", of the base rim B, and the recess a, in the annularflange a, of the auxiliary rim A, said recesses coinciding with eachother when the tire is not subjected to strain which is the positionassumed for convenience of illustration in the drawings. In thisarrangement shown in Fig. 1, side caps f, 7, may beused to prevent thedisplacement of the intermedial compensating cushions k, k; and theedges of the recesses b 6 a, may be rounded oif to prevent shearingaction and afford space for the compression of the cushions.

In Fig. 2, separate compensating cushions is, k, are situated-in each ofthe recesses 12 ,6 of the base rim B, mounted axially upon a bolt g,seated in the recess a, in the annular flange a, of the auxiliary rimA,the head of the bolt and the retaining nut g", being flanged, orwashers being used to cover the recesses b b An alternativeconstructionis shown in Fig. 9, in which an intermedial compensating cushion is, ispositioned in each recess a, (enlarged for the purpose) in the annularflan e a, of the auxiliary rim A, and

4 the bolt is seated in the (contracted) recesses N 175 In either casethe size of the intermedial compensating cushions k, is proportionate tothe extent of play and elastic resilient resistance called for by therequirements of use for which the tire may be designed.

When used as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 9,

the cushions k, may be in the form of disks having side concavities k,to facilitate the compression of the rubber composition or other elasticresilient material of which the cushions may be formed.

The number of intermedial compensating cushions is, used, their size,and their distribution around the base rim B, will depend upon thecharacter and requirements of the vehicle'to be fitted with this form oftire.

In order to prevent undue frictional heating by reason of the turning ofthe cushions k, 70, upon the retaining bolts or within the recesses Iform the contacting parts with interlocking ribs and grooves whichrevent rotation,as the ribs 1', on the cushlons fitting in correspondinggrooves in the bolts 9, g, and in the side walls of the recesses 6 b, a,or alternatively vice versa, as may be desired or 'found most expedient.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

In a tire of the character stated, a base rim formedwith an annulargroove having recessed side walls, an auxiliary floating annular rimformed with a central flange freely slidable in said groove, said flangebeing recessed coincident with the recesses in the side walls of thebase rim groove, elastic resilient cushions positioned intermedially inthe recesses of said base rim and annular rim, and means bearing againstthe outer faces of the base rim opposite said recesses and holding saidcushions in place, said resilient cushions and recesses havinginterlocking ribs and grooves to prevent rotation of the cushions.

ALPHONSE ARTHUR PIOARD.

Witnesses:

GEO. WM. MIATT, DOROTHY L.

